WOLFGANG VAN HALEN No Longer Appearing at Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘Back to the Beginning’ Concert

Wolfgang Van Halen has officially stepped down from his scheduled appearance at Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath’s highly anticipated Back to the Beginning farewell concert. Speaking with Meltdown of Detroit’s 101 WRIF, the Mammoth WVH frontman explained that a scheduling clash with his band’s upcoming tour with Creed forced the change.

Wolfgang Van Halen offered:

“I, unfortunately, had to back out because the Creed tour starts the day after, and I [wouldn’t] be able to pull it off — unfortunately. I’m very excited to watch it, but I unfortunately had to back out.”

While the timing didn’t work in his favor this time around, Wolfgang still holds a deep personal connection to the Osbourne and Sabbath legacy. Earlier this year on Loudwire Nights, he reflected on taking part in Ozzy’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction.

“My family lineage is intertwined and has gone way back with the likes of Ozzy,” he said. “My dad was very, very close with Tony [Iommi], probably the closest of any other guitar players out there. It was a crazy honor to be there for the Hall of Fame induction as well as this. It’s a crazy thing.”

He continued by highlighting the band’s undeniable influence:

“There are some legends out there where it’s just like, they can’t be replicated and they’re just so original — they started a movement.”

Wolfgang also noted that his father, the late Eddie Van Halen, had a particular fondness for Black Sabbath’s classic “Into the Void”, calling it his favorite riff.

When asked to choose his favorite Ozzy-era guitarist, Wolfgang had a tough time narrowing it down.

“I’m really bad at picking, ’cause that almost implies you don’t like another one in comparison, I feel like Randy [Rhoads] was amazing, but you can’t not give cred to Tony [Iommi] being the legend and groundbreaking genre creator he was — and is. So I love ’em all. That’s not the answer you wanna hear.”

Though Wolfgang won’t be part of Back to the Beginning, fans can still catch him on the road this fall with Mammoth WVH as they support Creed on their reunion tour.

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